Video - Who is Horizons: A Video Short

(Background of space with stars over which the image of a man, Colin, appears and begins to speak..)

To me it's just really important, if there's any organization in Canada that should have a group looking into the mid to long term future it would be the federal government.

(Image of Colin disappears and the image of another man, Paul, appears and begins to speak to the camera..)

Certainly this is not a place that thrives on repetition.

(Image of Paul disappears and the image of a woman, Jodi, appears and begins to speak..)

It's not your typical department. They really take things and push the envelope.

(Image of Jodi disappears and the image of a man, Peter, appears and begins to speak..)

We have to start caring about the future because our future is changing.

(Image of Peter disappears and the image of another man, Blaise, appears and begins to speak..)

Since we work collaboratively, we're able to stay at the forefront of what's being done and what's being developed.

(Image of Blaise disappears and a moving graphic with the word “.horizons” appears then fades to black. A short time-lapse of a boardroom with businesspeople entering fades in then cuts to the image of a man who begins to speak. On the left side the name of the man is displayed, PAUL DE CIVITA, Policy Horizons Canada.)

Policy Horizons Canada is a scanning and foresight organization for the federal public service.

(Image of Paul de Civita talking cuts to a close-up of him speaking to someone off-camera. Scene cuts to close-up of another man, Peter, who looks over then cuts to a scene of Peter interacting with a woman at the office. Image cuts to Peter as he speaks and on the left side his name is displayed, PETER PADBURY, Horizons..)

Basically, foresight is a step before planning. To do good planning you have to understand the system; you have to understand the challenges.

(Close-up of the hand of a woman with a pen and a file with papers is shown, then cuts to a close-up of faces speaking. The scene changes to the boardroom with business-people sitting around a table and interacting. Close-up of a woman from the boardroom looking to the to which the scene cuts to a man, Colin, who begins to speak and on the right side his name appears, COLIN DOBSON, Horizons..)

I guess foresight, I'd like to go back in the most general terms, it's something everybody does. It's just looking into the future, taking everything into account and being honest about the wide range of possibilities that the future might take.

(A boardroom with businesspeople meeting appears, then another scene with a woman standing in front of a white room with notes and gesturing to them. Shown after is hand writing on a notepad then a second scene of the woman in front of the whiteboard gesturing to the notes on the board. Once again we see Colin as he finishes speaking. A man and a woman are then seen walking towards the camera, down a hallway, looking at a file, then happily continue to walk. Scene cuts to Peter who begins to speak..)

We're not trying to predict the future, what we're trying to understand is how a system might evolve, what's the range of futures that are possible, what are some of the challenges and opportunities that lie in that range of futures.

(Image of a woman drawing on a whiteboard appears, then of another woman writing on the same board. Peter appears on screen again as he continues to speak. The scene of the women drawing and writing on the board is shown from a different angle. The image of Blaise appears and he begins to speak; on the left side his name appears, BLAISE HÉBERT, Horizons..)

I'm lucky to be working at Horizons. I can work closely with others, be creative, and imaginative.

(Scene of a man looking at a tablet with his colleagues is shown. Once again we see the image of Jodi and she begins to speak with her name appearing on the left side, JODI LEBLANC, Veterans Affairs Canada..)

The Policy Horizons employees were incredible to deal with they had so much energy, enthusiasm, it was contagious. I learned so much from them. It really sparked my enthusiasm for foresight tools and using them in policy analysis in my workplace and it has made me want to work for the government of Canada for my whole career.

(A woman at the front of the room with a screen is speaking to employees in a presentation room, where after the reaction of the employees laughing is captured. There is a close-up of a hand with a mobile device then a scene of a young man giving a presentation to his colleagues in front of a large TV screen. Jodi appears on screen again as she finishes speaking. There is a young man sitting at a desk with a computer having a video conversation and shown then is a close up of the screen with a browser page open of “.horizons”..)

We work with government employees as well as people from the outside, including internationally. Horizons adds value to government because it embraces innovation. It's an organization that's dynamic, open and creative.

(Julie appears on screen as she continues to speak and on the right side appears her name, JULIE SAUMURE, Horizons. Julie then appears in a scene interacting with a colleague as she points to a screen then back to a close up of her face as she finishes speaking. Julie is once again shown gesturing at the screen. Paul appears on screen and speaks..)

The value of our products and services to the deputy minister's community is that it allows them to anticipate some potential disruptions in the future and to have them incorporate it in their existing plan so that their policy development is more resilient.

(Another scene of women gesturing at the whiteboard with notes, close-up of someone writing on a notebook, and scenes of employees interacting around a table with a close up of material they are holding in their hands is seen. Paul appears on screen briefly as he continues to speak. Peter sitting and interacting with colleagues, a close-up of one of the colleagues explaining and the reaction of the others is then presented followed by a scene of someone taking paper from a notepad. Peter appears on screen and begins to speak..)

No one knows the future and our job is to get people thinking about it.

(Fade to black followed by the moving graphic of “.horizons” appears. The screen goes black again then appears the CANADA Logo with the animated flag..)